BTOOOM! (series review)

BTOOOM! is one of those series I consistently followed throughout its run. I could have blogged about it all season long if it wasn't for school. SO now, as a comeback post (well I wasn't entirely gone was I?) I’ll be posting my review for this series(:

Right from the very first episode, BTOOOM! has already shown its potential as a series with a lot of action and mind breaking question of trust. It’s a survival game after all. As what they have always said, it’s always a kill-or-be-killed situation out there.

So what is BTOOOM! all about? BTOOOM! is supposed to be an online game wherein you kill your enemies with the use of bombs. Sakamoto Ryouta (Hongo Kanata) is a NEET who's at the world's top 10 players of BTOOOM!. He suddenly wakes up in a parachute in his back hanging on a tree and was stuck in an island with no recollection of what brought him there. He encounters a man who suddenly throws a bomb at him the moment he asked a question and next thing he knows he was fighting for his life as if he's playing BTOOOM!. The only difference is that if he dies in here, he dies for real.

What's interesting about BTOOOM!'s story is the rules of the game which was explained in episode 3. Each player is given his own BIMs (or bombs). There are different kinds of BIMs depending on how you see each type, you can call yourself lucky or not. A player cannot use the BIMs of other players unless they have successfully killed them. The only way out of the island and survive the death game is to acquire 8 of the chips that are attached on their right hand. The twist is that these chips can only be acquired ones a player is dead.

What is interesting about the rules are the psychological elements that are bundled in here. The thought of suddenly being in an island with one objective - to kill in order to survive, the decision of working with other players to gain an easy way out and the mental capacity to actually kill someone are things that makes BTOOOM! amusing to watch.

The development of the story is pretty good. The first two episodes have given some basic backgrounds on the two main characters, Sakamoto Ryouta and Himiko (Mimori Suzuko) while the third episode has explained the game itself. The entire sequence is pretty understandable. The following episodes have been allotted to further developments on Sakamoto and his survival in the island with Himiko and Taira Kiyoshi (Ookawa Tooru). The problem about BTOOOM! is that it never really actually had any depth in the story although it's not really much of a bother if you're going to look at it the other way. In which the other way is suppose to be the entertainment value of the show. For suspense, psychological and action fans, BTOOOM! is definitely something worth watching. I personally enjoyed it in that sense.

The 12 episodes allotted for BTOOOM! was definitely good. At first, I thought that the ending would be rushed or forced or crappy in any sense. Although it wasn’t really that good, it was decent as it is and I couldn't ask for more. It's an ongoing manga after all.

BTOOOM! had a fairly good number of characters for a survival game-style of series. It's pretty natural to have a handful of characters in this style of series and what BTOOOM! had done well is the background check on every notable side characters. Almost all side characters are pretty interesting. To name a few there's a psychotic kid who feared his father that he killed him, Sakamoto's high school friend, and a veteran player of the game who has completed it once. The only problem about the characters is that aside from their basic background, they never had any other development since they only come out in one or two episodes while the rest has been solely focused on Sakamoto and Himiko.

The main characters are honestly not that interesting. First off, there's Sakamoto Ryouta. He's Japan's top BTOOOM! player and has practically enjoyed the life just playing the game. Sakamoto is the type of guy who'd want to help every nice people he'd encounter despite their situation in the island. He's pretty naïve and can probably be easily deceive. The other main character, on the other hand, Himiko is supposed to be Sakamoto's online girlfriend. Her full story is shown in episode 2. She's a girl with a pretty dreadful past and has grown a fear of man because of it.

Other than the twisted psychological element that BTOOOM! had in stored, what's also good about this show is the intensely amazing action and battle scenes. The first episode opened it pretty well with the sudden action between Sakamoto and the buzz-cut guy who gave him the idea that they're playing BTOOOM! in the island for real. One notable action scene in BTOOOM! has got to be Sakamoto's fight with Kousuke in episode 4. It was so intense I can't get my eyes off the screen.

As for BTOOOM!'s character design, I'd personally say that it’s not really my type. If you're going to look at other series with the same genre, I'd say that Mirai Nikki and Deadman Wonderland had it better. But personally judging the anime based on the character design is not really my style, it's always how the animation is executed in any way when it comes to the art department and BTOOOM! has did its job really well.

Finally on BTOOOM!'s music, I'd say that the BGM and SFX were pretty decent. BGM is not really BTOOOM!'s specialty since silence is usually the best thing for psychological genres and eerie SFX with only a little to no help from BGM is needed there. As for BTOOOM!'s action scenes, there's this particular BGM that they use for them (it was played in Sakamoto's matches with Kira Kousuke (Sawashiro Miyuki) as well as with Oda Nobutaka (Nakamura Yuuichi)) and I'd say that it was pretty good. I like the music as it is. On a final note, I'd like to give credits to the wonderful OP of BTOOOM! – No Pain No Game by Nano, which probably goes to my top OPs for this year :3

Overall, BTOOOM! is one of the interesting series of FALL 2012 and a definite must watch for all psychological fans out there. The action is insanely amazing although the story doesn't have much depth. Characters are generic but their dilemmas are pretty interesting to see (or am I just being an S in here :3). The art is not my favorite but pretty appropriate to the psychological theme the series is presenting. BGM is not outstanding but decent and appropriate for the series. Both OP and ED episodes are good that they make you want for more.

Yes for season two? Count me in! XD

~BTW, Merry Christmas to everyone :3 also, I'd appreciate if you like my facebook page && follow me on twitter :D